Inclusion of women in House of Chiefs requires dialogue - President

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo - Addo has asked queen mothers across the country to exercise restraint with their request to be included in the Houses of Chiefs as government continues to dialogue on the matter.

Nana Abena Boatemaa, paramount queen mother of Odumaase Number one tabled the request before the president when the National Council of Women Traditional leaders paid a curtsey call on him at the seat of government on Wednesday.

She bemoaned the fact although queen mothers play very important roles in the development of the country as advisers to chiefs and kingmakers, the House of Chiefs, a constitutionally mandated traditional body, has always been constituted by men.

In response, the President said although the matter has come up many times, the decision cannot be imposed on the House of Chiefs but rather need further dialogue on the way forward.
The Queen mothers in their presentation thanked the President for introducing the flagship Free Senior High Policy which they saidy has taken a huge financial burden off them as they no longer use their money to pay fees of Senior High School students in their respective traditional areas.
They also praised the President on the success of the Planting for Food and Jobs project which has employed a number of the youth across the country.
The President in turn, praised the hard working Ghanaian farmers for the success of the programme adding that Ghana is now an exporter of food as a result of the Planting for food programme.
“Today Ghana is an exporter of food again all over the world; we are now exporting food to Cote d’Ivoire, to Burkina Faso, to Mali, to Togo with the support of government, our farmers can do it, they are hardworking,” he said.